I know it's a movie but Bob should have been smart enough to know that what he was doing with Leo and his family goes completely against the rules regarding patient doctor relationships. He also mentions at the end how he had several other therapist through out his life. No matter how angry or physical Leo got with him, he kept on defending him and raving about how great he was. How could he have not known this or had enough common sense?
shareBob was completely absorbed in his own issues. People who have strong emotional issues have trouble allocating a little perspective to the world around them. They often find it very difficult to see past their own issues and the effect of their behaviour on other people. Come to think of it, that also applies to just about everybody whenever there's an emotional stake involved.
Bob was just an extreme case, which is one of the things that made this a fun movie. I guess his behaviour was more of a caricature than real, but then it would have been a dull movie. Reality doesn't entertain in the movie world.
No matter how angry or physical Leo got with him, he kept on defending him and raving about how great he was
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That is the humor in it. He never realizes that Dr. Marvin wants him to leave. He probably did the same thing with the other therapists, who probably decided to wash their hands of him by quitting the business and referring Bob to another therapist, like the other guy does at the beginning.
shareI might add....Bob Never really did anything terrible to Marvin.
Slighy irritating yes.
It was Marvins Perception of PErfection that bob was ruining...but bob wasnt ruining anything that was based in reality except fo rbeing slight annoying.
That Perfection never excisted because he had troubles with his children and lesser so with his wife.
If anything Bob made his life better but he could not see this as his ideas and perceptions of his perfect life where not meeting his expectations...and thusly blamed bob for it.
Wow aarone. How would you like it if somebody stalked you on a vacation when all you really needed was just to get away from it all? Would you find that slightly annoying, or reason to alert the authorities? I would like your actual opinion here, I'm not being sarcastic.
shareNow you put it like that..No.
Marvin is a Phychrist. He would be well aware that some patients behaviour is aberrant. And from time to time things like this might happen..patients wanting to see him after hours with out notice.
Essentially Bob really wanted to see him. infact Marvins book spoke to bob.
MArvin denied him. And bob did keep coming back...but Marvin made it out to be more than it should have been. and that was due to his controlling behavour.
Look how he wanted everything perfect on the fire place mantle?
Look how ziggys diving had to work to a system of sorts?
Look how he has puippets to have third party discussion with his daughter?
Marvin had a serious problem with not being able to control things that where beyond his control, that being bob, and bob was simply harmless uncontrolable to boot. So there was no real problem there.
Aarone,
We watched this film in my Psychology class (I am a Psychology major), and one of the things my professor pointed out is also something that is well known in the psychology community: you need to be able to get away. When your job is dealing with mentally imbalanced people for 40 hours a week, you NEED (this is a need, not a want) to be able to recharge your batteries. Also, if somebody behaved as Bob did, there isn't a psychiatrist working that would stand for it. Bob STALKED Dr. Marvin to his vacation home and then proceeded to get WAY too close to his family (this is why there are patient/doctor agreements).
Pretend for a moment that you are a plumber. After spending 40 hours a week for 11 months unclogging everybody's toilet, you go on vacation. Now imagine that the ENTIRE time you are on vacation at a nice hotel, people are knocking on your door morning, noon and night and asking you to unclog their toilets. Do you feel that is acceptable? I don't know what you do for a living, but would you be perfectly ok with your boss calling you everyday you were on vacation (and off the clock) and giving you daily assignments when you were just trying to relax?
I'm not pretending that Dr. Marvin was perfect. I actually thought the way that he ordered his family around and insisted on talking to his 17 year old daughter through a puppet was unsettling to say the least. But I am in no way excusing what Bob did.
For you to imply that Bob had some kind of right to invade Dr. Marvin's private life makes me wonder if you yourself are a bit of a narcissist.
I think the plumber analogy is a bad one because alot of plumbers operate 24/7 unclogging toilets when called. It is part of there job.
That said i understand your point you could have used a carpenter instead.
But, one must remember the pyscoligist is dealing with human frailty, not Poo and water.
So when such instances arise, although in this case peculiar with bob, it has to be dealt with, marv tried to handle it and failed,
If you Remember bob took Marvins advice and went on a holiday....to the same lake. bad idea by marvin to recommended that.
It is not illegal for him to be there.
I think it was marvins inability to even attempt to make a bad situation (which was not that bad, Marvin exasperated it to begin with) in to a better one by just accepting that bob was there and getting on with his own holiday, which with his interview and book didnt seem like much of a holiday anyway.
Like i said marvin cant stand that he didnt have control over the situation for a change. He has it in his office and workplace, (he decides who he sees via his assitant.
I see your reasoning, aarone. I wonder if people like Bob -- extremely industrious, ec. -- would even be in therapy since he or she cold troubleshoot issues him or herself. I think he just wanted relationships.
Although Bob goes to extraordinary measures to connect with Dr. Marvin I also wonder if Dr. Marvin is in the wrong profession in light of Bob "impinging" upon their family - there is a sense in which Dr. Marvin allowed Bob into his life. Bob's previous therapist left the profession, which is where Dr. Marvin ends up. If Dr. Marvin was struggling so much with Bob perhaps he should have gotten away himself and allowed the family to be with him? Bob certainly drew negative features out of Dr. Marvin, which made the two a volatile combination. With Dr. Marvin's supposed intelligence, he should have taken the initiative to escape himself.
With regard to plumber analogy, you never tell us how other vacationers learn that he is a plumber and pursue him for that service.